KEEP YOUR INSURANCE UP TO DATE

September 10th, 2009 categories: Market Trends

A friend of ours had a very tragic loss a few years ago. Her summer home burned to the ground while she drove home from closing the place for the winter. Nobody ever really could figure out what happened–the home just burned down. Since it was an older home, it could have been an electrical fire–the exact cause was never determined. Unfortunately the home was not insured for replacement value and the amount of coverage had not been increased for many, many years. All our friend could collect was $67,000. It cost her $250,000 to replace the home plus the loss of over a year’s use of the place. Here are a few insurance lessons for you:

First insurance lesson–check the value of your home and cover it for replacement or almost replacement cost.
Second insurance lesson–if you remodel and improve, let your insurer know and increase your coverage for the remodeling and improving. If you use extremely high-end finishes and products, figure that into the equation.
Third insurance lesson–get a short term liability policy to cover any injuries to workers while they do the remodeling. These policies are usually inexpensive. This is a “just in case” to limit your liability if the contractor or subcontractor doesn’t have adequate coverage for their employees.

Three easy insurance lessons– perhaps they are lessons that you hadn’t thought about learning–good things to keep in mind for your own protection.

Any questions about Chicago real estate–the market continues to improve and I would love to hear from you if you have a question about buying or selling in this market. You can find me at 312-981-2360 (direct) or cell (312-607-1306). Or e-mail me.

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KEEP YOUR INSURANCE UP TO DATE

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